The Student-Athlete & the Media

The responsibility of a student-athlete at the University of Montana is to represent his/her respective athletic team(s) by conducting occasional interviews with the print and/or electronic media. These might be at the department’s weekly press conference, before or after practice, or after competition.

ALL media requests for interviews should be coordinated by the Sports Information Office. Please contact the appropriate Director of Communications: Joel Carlson, 243-5414 (WSO, CC, WBB, WGO, WSB) Nic Hallisey, 970-231-4789 (WVB, MBB, TR) Eric Taber, 243-5402 (FB, MTE, WTE)

Things to remember about the interview process:

1. Believe it or not, bookies have been known to call UM athletes to obtain information. These inquiries usually concern injuries. Do not talk to someone who you are not familiar with, or to individual(s) who have not gone through the proper channels (re: sports information or your head coach).

2. In some cases, a coach may set up an athlete interview. This is permissible, but please let sports information know of the interview.

3. Never talk “off the record.” In the mid-80’s a Grizzly basketball player thought that he was talking off the record and a publication made an expose out of the athlete’s comments. The athlete thought that his comments were just part of a friendly conversation, and not part of the interview process. He found out the hard way that if you say something in an interview environment, you are held accountable for your comments.

4. Please remember that you represent not only yourself, but also the UM athletic department, and the rest of your team, and the University of Montana when you are put in the media spotlight. Be yourself but try to put yourself (and your teammates, coaches and opponents) in the best light possible. Look at the interview process as a positive learning experience, which will help

you to broaden your communication skills.

5. Remember that you are in control of the interview. Not all questions need to be answered. If you feel like an interview is going in a direction you do not like, you have the power to end the interview.

6. Our philosophy at the University of Montana is that it is an athlete’s responsibility to agree to a

requested interview by the media when that interview request is made in a timely manner

by any media representative.

7. Student-athletes are not required to conduct interviews the day before their competition or the day of their competition (except for the postgame press conference). Exceptions to this rule are interviews requested by television for live broadcasts and for all NCAA postseason competition.

8. UM prides itself on the quality of its student-athletes, and the interview process is an

excellent learning tool for all concerned.

Please contact the sports information office for any issues regarding the accuracy of gogriz.com, the department’s official website.